Since a silver halide light-sensitive material used making a printing plate is required to have a high contrast, there are generally used a technique to incorporate a tetrazolium compound in a light-sensitive material as described in Japanese Pat. Exam. Pub. Nos. 17821/1964, 5936/1985 as well as a technique to incorporate a hydrazine compound in a light-sensitive material as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,929.
However, a tetrazolium compound containing light-sensitive material and a hydrazine compound containing light-sensitive material are different from each other in reaction mechanism for improving the contrast. To be concrete, in a tetrazolium compound containing light-sensitive material, a tetrazolium compound acts as a reducing agent in the developing process and thereby improves the contrast by depressing the development of a silver halide which is low in exposure. On the other hand, in a hydrazine compound containing light-sensitive material, a hydrazine compound acts as an oxidizing agent and thereby improves the contrast by accelerating the development of a silver halide which is rich in exposure. Because of such reaction mechanisms contrary each other, a tetrazolium compound containing light-sensitive material and a hydrazine compound containing light-sensitive material cannot be processed in the same developer. For example, when a hydrazine compound containing light-sensitive material is processed in a developer where a tetrazolium compound containing light-sensitive material is being processed, a tetrazolium compound dissolved from the light-sensitive material into the developer reacts with a hydrazine compound, inactivating the contrast-improving function. In a converse case, the contrast-improving function is lost, too.
At the use of a light-sensitive material, users select appropriate one depending upon the purpose such as photographing, contact or scanning. Since a tetrazolium compound containing light-sensitive material and a hydrazine compound containing light-sensitive material have merits and demerits respectively in contrast-improving function and other photographic properties, it is preferred that a light-sensitive material most suitable for the purpose be selected by taking such merits and demerits into consideration. However, when light-sensitive materials selected by an user are different in process for improving the contrast, different developers and different automatic processors are needed according to the materials selected, imposing a burden on user. Such being the case, there has been demanded a process which makes it possible to employ the same developer and the same automatic processor irrespectively of contrast-improving process.
There are various supplying methods of a processing solution for a photographic light-sensitive material.
In photographic processing carried out with an automatic processor to develop, fix and bleach the light-sensitive material, a specific amount of processing agents is supplied as replenishers to the processor to compensate loss of processing solutions caused by being taken out together the light-sensitive material to be processed or by being evaporated, oxidized or deteriorated. Such replenishers are generally sold in the form of concentrated solutions to be diluted with water when used.
However, undesirable problems sometimes arise in the method where such concentrated solutions are diluted. To be concrete, when a light-sensitive material is processed with a developer containing a conventional polyhydroxy benzene type developing agent, problems do not arise as long as processing is carried out at normal intervals, but when processing leaves a processing solution unreplenished at long intervals, the solution allows air oxidation to proceed, resulting in deteriorating the developer's activity and thereby lowering the photographic sensitivity. For example, when a light-sensitive material is processed, the operation of the automatic developer is closed at night and a light-sensitive material of the same kind is processed on the following morning, the sensitivity of the latter light-sensitive material fluctuates much more than that of the former light-sensitive material. In such a case, the activity of the developer must be restored by supplying a large amount of developer replenisher and, as a result, the efficiency of operation is lowered to a large extent.
Further, in a recent processing system which uses a replenisher in a small amount for minimizing the amount of photographic waste liquor in view of environmental protection, a processing solution in running state is low in activity because of a small replenishing amount, while the tolerance for deterioration in developer activity has become very small owing to shortening of developing time brought about by the recent tendency toward more rapid developing. To cope with such a problem, there have so far been made various attempts such as thinning of a light-sensitive material by decreasing the binder amount used in a light-sensitive material, minimization of deterioration in developing activity by lessening the amount of silver halide contained in a light-sensitive material, and raise of developing temperature. However, these attempts are not effective enough to solve the problem, and the lowering in photographic sensitivity becomes intensified in photographic operation. In addition, disposal of waste processing solutions becomes difficult because of organic solvents contained therein; therefore, decrease in amount of organic solvents, generally contained in a processing solution is strongly demanded.